As Return of the Jedi faded from theaters in late 1983, Star Wars fans entered what would become known as the “Dark Times.” Toys began disappearing from the shelves and slowly Star Wars faded into the cultural zeitgeist.

Before faint whispers about Special Editions and Prequels, Heir to the Empire awakened a hunger for Star Wars that had been just under the geek surface for years. It was the first book to be licensed by Lucasfilm to continue the story after Return of the Jedi. Bringing back Luke, Leia and Han as well as introducing us to Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Talon Karrde, and a plethora of others who would become staples of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, cemented Timothy Zahn, for fans, as the second coming of George Lucas.

The SWEU flourished with varied success over the 23 years it ran, ending when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and announced that the EU would be reorganized in the Legends line and a new official run of canon books and comics would be forthcoming.

In this episode, Matthew Rushing is joined by intrepid Rebels Bruce Gibson, Darren Moser, and John Mills to talk about Star Wars Aftermath. We discuss the old SWEU and the the new canon, a new hope, characters, small cameos, things we liked, ask a question, the Amazon issue and wrap up with ratings and final thoughts.